Flourishing programs in 80+ disciplines. A vibrant Christian mission. $50 million
in new campus construction. A 2014 Division III national championship. 95% placement
within 6 months of graduation. There’s never been a better time to consider Hope College.

As a member of the MIAA and NCAA Division III associations, Hope College sponsors
22 varsity sports for men and women. The college is home to the 2014 NCAA Division
III National Championship women’s volleyball team.

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Hope College and two area churches will host multiple presentations in conjunction
with “Breaking Chains: Bringing Awareness to Holland about Human Trafficking,” running
Monday-Friday, Feb. 23-27.

The public is invited to all of the events, although advance registration is required
for the opening film and discussion. Admission is free.

The events will begin on Monday, Feb. 23, from 7 to 9 p.m. with the documentary “A
Path Appears” and discussion in Winants Auditorium of Graves Hall, organized by WGVU.
Based on the book by Nick Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn, the film offers a global perspective,
showing cases from Colombia, to Haiti, to Kenya, to the U.S., in examining the roots
of sex slavery and possible solutions. The follow-up discussion will be facilitated
by Shelley Irwin of WGVU, and will feature a panel including Andy Soper, founder and
owner of Five Arrows Consulting; Gail Harrison, founder and executive director of
the Lakeshore Ethnic Diversity Alliance; and Nikeidra Battle-DeBarge, Manasseh Project
coordinator. Registration is by visiting wgvu.org and clicking the Home page banner
“a path appears.”

The activities will continue with the documentary “Sex + Money: A National Search
for Human Worth” on Tuesday, Feb. 24, from 7 to 9 p.m. in the Maas Center auditorium.
The film-makers traveled to more than 30 states and conducted more than 75 interviews
to chronicle domestic-minor sex trafficking and the modern-day abolitionist movement
fighting to stop it.

John Cotton Richmond, a federal prosecutor who serves as the special litigation counsel
with the U.S. Department of Justice’s Human Trafficking Prosecution Unit, will make
two presentations on Wednesday, Feb. 25. He will speak during the college’s Chapel
service at 10:30 a.m. in Dimnent Memorial Chapel, and at 7 p.m. at Pillar Church in
an event that will include music through the non-profit group Songs Against Slavery.
Richmond has investigated and prosecuted numerous victim-centered labor and sex trafficking
cases throughout the United States as well as criminal civil rights crimes, and frequently
serves as an expert on human trafficking for the United Nations’ Working Group on
Trafficking in Persons and at the European Union’s multilateral meetings on human
trafficking.

The week will close with the film “In Plain Sight,” on Friday, Feb. 27, at 7 p.m.
at Moran Park Church. The church and Songs Against Slavery are partnering together
to host a screening of the newly released documentary produced and narrated by Christian
singer Natalie Grant. The documentary visits six U.S. cities for interviews with numerous
victims of sex trafficking, exploring also the positive impact of a sex trafficking
after-care home.

The week will also include additional events for the campus community.

In addition to the community organizations noted previously, several programs at Hope
are co-sponsoring the week, including Campus Ministries, the Women’s and Gender Studies
Program, the Provost’s Office, the Dean for the Arts and Humanities, the Dean for
the Social Sciences, the Department of History, the Department of Political Science,
the International Studies Program, the Department of Religion, and the Uprooted and
Hope United for Justice student organizations.

Dimnent Memorial Chapel is located at 277 College Ave., on College Avenue at 12th
Street. Graves Hall is located at 263 College Ave., between 10th and 12th streets.
The Maas Center is located at 264 Columbia Ave., on Columbia Avenue at 11th Street.
Moran Park Church is located at 163 West 22nd St. Pillar Church is located at 57
East 10th Street.

Arnold and Mabel Beckman Foundation Award Funds Student Research

Hope College is one of only 12 colleges and universities nationwide, and the only institution from Michigan, to receive a 2015 Beckman Scholars Program award from the Arnold and Mabel Beckman Foundation in support of student research.

Hope College to Present Dance 41 on Feb. 27-28 and March 5-7

Hope College’s annual major dance concert, Dance 41, will open Friday, Feb. 27, and continue on Saturday, Feb. 28, and Thursday-Saturday, March 5-7. All performances start at 7:30 p.m. in the Knickerbocker Theatre in downtown Holland.